Bitcoin merchants: Paying rent and finding a date

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Posted onApr 17, 2013

Bitcoin as a currency increases in utility as it becomes widely accepted and easy to use. As more and more people realize the inherent advantages of this modern currency, the number of merchants is growing every day. During the last week two major companies added bitcoin payments.

Paying your rent

If only you could do something about the price of your rent

Alvic Property Management, a property management company based in New York City, has begun accepting bitcoins as payment for rent and maintenance at their properties. Alvic specializes in cooperative, condo and multi-family properties in the New York real estate market.

Property Management Companies, or landlords, have been slow to accept new payment methods in my experience. When they do accept payment methods other than check or money order, typically they pass the costs of the alternate payment method onto the tenant. As an example, if you pay with a credit card, sometimes you will need to pay a 3% fee.

In their press release, there was a very important quote that strikes a chord with one of the major selling points of Bitcoin. Michael Lacsa, head of client relations, states that Alvic is “…always looking for ways to increase income while cutting expenses…” and “…Bitcoin provides this opportunity.” That quote right there is the one of the major drivers for why Bitcoin can succeed. Bitcoin lowers the transaction costs of transferring money from one party to another. The consumer wins. The merchant wins. As time goes on and more companies begin accepting bitcoins, expect to see this quote or a variation of it used when explaining their reason for entering into the Bitcoin payment system.

Finding a date

Not only will you be able to pay rent with bitcoin, but you will also be able to find a date with bitcoin. OkCupid, a popular online dating service, is now accepting bitcoins as payment from its premium users.

OKCupid’s CEO Sam Yagan appears to be a big Bitcoin supporter, going as far to say that “these digital currencies are going to be the future.” He explained that only a few people asked him to accept bitcoins as payment at OKCupid; however, he believes this is only the beginning and he wants to be one of the early adopters from the merchant marketplace.

This OK Cupid example shows that even a small amount of people requesting for bitcoin to be accepted as payment can have a huge impact. If you own bitcoins or believe in its future, please reach out to businesses you regularly transact with and ask them if they accept bitcoins. If they have not heard about it or are confused by what Bitcoin is, become an advocate for Bitcoin. Check out our Bitcoin 101 courses; these courses do not require you to know anything about Bitcoin going into them. These courses will help you explain to someone with no or limited knowledge of Bitcoin the basics of Bitcoin in laymen terms.